100 Best Journalists Books of All Time

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

On Bill Gates's reading list in 2011. [source]

James Altucher

Founder/StockPickr

Gladwell is not the first person to come up with the 10,000 hour rule. Nor is he the first person to document what it takes to become the best in the world at something. But his stories are so great as he explains these deep concepts. How did the Beatles become the best? Why are professional hockey players born in January, February and March? And so on. [source]

Alex Circei

Question: What five books would you recommend to young people interested in your career path & why? Answer: Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons In Life by Richard Branson Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone To Take Action by Simon Sinek The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers by Ben Horowitz Rich Dad Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not! by Robert T. Kiyosaki [source]

Kevin Rose

Co-founder/Digg

Bunch of really good information in here on how to make ideas go viral. This could be good to apply to any kind of products or ideas you may have. Definitely, check out The Tipping Point, which is one of my favorites. [source]

Seth Godin

Author, Marketer, Entrepreneur

Malcolm Gladwell's breakthrough insight was to focus on the micro-relationships between individuals, which helped organizations realize that it's not about the big ads and the huge charity balls... it's about setting the stage for the buzz to start. [source]

Andy Stern

I think that when we talk about making change, it is much more about macro change, like in policy. This book reminds you that at times when you're building big movements, or trying to elect significant decision-makers in politics, sometimes it's the little things that make a difference. Ever since the book was written, we've become very used to the idea of things going viral unexpectedly and then having massive impact. The Tipping Point, to me, is really an appreciation that very small things can rearrange thinking in ways – like infectious diseases – that have huge implications. While we're always searching for the big policy changes – and we think we have to do that in very traditional ways of building coalitions against constituencies, movements and the media – sometimes it's the little things that actually tip the situation. Like the story of a person and their unique set of circumstances that really captures an issue about health care or housing. So it's trying to remember, while you're thinking about the grand and the glorious, that thinking about the small things can equally bring about change. [source]

Reese Witherspoon

Actress, Author, Founder/Hello Sunshine

Congrats @RonanFarrow on your incredible book #CatchandKill. Amazing investigative reporting and A real thrill ride of a read. 📚 [source]

Bastian Obermayer

I know I’m very late to this party, but: „Catch And Kill“ from the unrelenting @RonanFarrow is a hell of a read!! Need inspiration for how to hold the powerful accountable - or only looking for great entertainment? Get this book. https://t.co/y3xWkUTWhh [source]

Julie K. Brown

The parallels to the Jeffrey Epstein case are amazing in @RonanFarrow’s new book. Imagine this same predatory behavior and coverup among powerful men — not at a TV-media network — but at the highest levels of our government. #perversionofjustice https://t.co/wh2EJlg7iW [source]

Jessica Flitter

The readability for me is probably the key element for students—and maybe for teachers as well—because it’s a book that you really can’t put down. If that’s what we need to make students readers, then I’m all for it. [source]

Joann Corleyschwarzkopf

Need a fun boost for your team? Want to jump-start great problem-solving? >Book a 1-hour #creativethinking, virtual experience & get a complimentary pdf copy - Brain on Fire: Unleashing Your Creative Superpowers! for each attendee #teambuilding Info here: https://t.co/j6hOxMJrNH https://t.co/b9hAxV90Mf [source]

A.J. Jacobs

Great writer. [source]

Carl Zimmer

Yes. This is a fascinating book on so many different levels. It is really compelling as the story of the author trying to uncover the history of the woman from whom all these cells came. [source]

Mike Shinoda

I know most of the guys in the band read this book. [source]

Marillyn Hewson

CEO/Lockheed Martin

CEO Marilyn Hewson recommends this book because it helped her to trust her instincts in business. [source]

Antonio Eram

When asked to name some books that had a big impact on him, Antonio mentioned Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

Of the five books I finished over vacation, the one that impressed me the most – and that is probably of broadest interest – is Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything, by science writer Joshua Foer. This is an absolutely phenomenal book that looks at memory and techniques for dramatically improving memory. Foer actually mastered these techniques, which led him to the finals of the U.S. Memory Championship. His book gives fascinating insights into how the mind works. [source]

Chelsea Handler

It has changed my life and made me embarrass myself much less when meeting someone twice. [source]

Deborah Blum

This book focuses not so much on the scientists but more on the consequence and meaning of memory for the rest of us. Within the framework of a memory championship, Foer looks at this almost obsessive interest in learning, how to remember everything. He asks the really interesting philosophical question, which is, are we defined by what we remember? [source]

Carrie Johnson

The best book I read last year. 📚 https://t.co/CULq9zZHEU [source]

Margot Wallström

I recommend the book ”Say nothing” about Northern Ireland and IRA. It makes fascinating reading about memories, murder, mourning and making peace. [source]

Mikko Takkunen

Just finished reading this remarkable book by @praddenkeefe. I was baffled getting this from @VeronicaSanchis as I don’t remember ever showing particular interest in the Troubles, but she obviously knows me better than I do. https://t.co/KlBCF41y47 https://t.co/PnJlLCZyQD [source]

Barack Obama

Former USA President

"According to the president’s Facebook page and a 2008 interview with the New York Times, these titles are among his most influential forever favorites: Moby Dick, Herman Melville Self-Reliance, Ralph Waldo Emerson Song Of Solomon, Toni Morrison Parting The Waters, Taylor Branch Gilead, Marylinne Robinson Best and the Brightest, David Halberstam The Federalist, Alexander Hamilton Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. Du Bois The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene The Quiet American, Graham Greene Cancer Ward, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Gandhi’s autobiography Working, Studs Terkel Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith Theory of Moral Sentiments, Adam Smith All the King’s Men, Robert Penn Warren " [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Cat Barton

It’s a fantastic novel, which is set in Saigon in the early 1950s and foreshadows the Vietnam War. It’s particularly nice to read when you’re in Ho Chi Minh now because Greene describes the city extraordinarily well. It’s obviously set in a very different time, but many of the buildings he writes about can still be seen today. [source]

Richard Branson

Founder/Virgin Group

Today is World Book Day, a wonderful opportunity to address this #ChallengeRichard sent in by Mike Gonzalez of New Jersey: Make a list of your top 65 books to read in a lifetime. [source]

Cristina Riesen

First, a word on career paths. In time, I realised that career paths are like one-way streets. Magic happens in unexplored territories. Plus life is how you choose to live every moment, every day. So today, rather than building a career, I prefer to make lateral moves in life, working with great people and being part of ambitious projects impacting the world. There are a few books that got me here: … Jon Krakauer "Into Thin Air". [source]

Fabrice Grinda

I have lots of books to recommend, but they are not related to my career path. The only one that is remotely related is Peter Thiel’s Zero to One. That said here are books I would recommend. [source]

Brandi Rhodes

That was the best Q/A everrrrr. Now on to reading. Highly recommend this book it’s been 🔥🔥🔥 (Colby put his paw in the pic). https://t.co/R09SNU9xa2 [source]

Mary Burkey

Oh my God, I love that book so much. [source]

Matt Mcgorry

"Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman" by Lindy West @TheLindyWest # Lovvvvveeedddd, loved, loved, loved this book!!! West is a truly remarkable writer and her stories are beautifully poignant while dosed with her… https://t.co/nzJtXtOGTn [source]

Shannon Coulter

@JennLHaglund @tomi_adeyemi I love that feeling! Just finished the audiobook version of Shrill by Lindy West after _years_ of meaning to read it and that's the exact feeling it gave me. Give me your book recommendations! [source]

Jacqui Pretty

When it comes to fiction, there are so many to choose from! Some books I've loved in the past year include The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. [source]

Sahil Lavingia

@alexbdebrie best book i've read recently is The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. [source]

Bill Earner

My favorites novels are 100 Years of Solitude, All the King's Men, The Last Samurai, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. [source]

Matthew O’Brien

It’s one of my favourite books and probably my favourite Las Vegas-related book. Hunter S Thompson came out here in the early 70s to cover the Mint 400 off-road race for Sports Illustrated. He ended up writing a 10,000-word riff on his visit. In 1971, Jann Wenner ultimately published two long sections of it in Rolling Stone. Those two stories were the foundation for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. [source]

Ryan Holiday

Author

There’s no question this was the year’s best book about media and culture–maybe even the best of the decade. Not only is it provocative and insightful, but the idea—interviewing and focusing on people who have screwed up and found themselves in the midst of massive online controversies—is one I am genuinely jealous of. Ronson proceeds to write about it with such sensitivity, empathy, humor and insight that I was blown away. If you’ve at all appreciated any of my media criticism over the years, please read this book. It looks at all that’s wrong with the rage and glee with which we tear people down–often people who were never public figures to begin with. He is just a helluva writer. If you get a chance, watch Monica Lewinsky’s TED talk which is also surprisingly good and pairs well with the ideas in the book. [source]

Audrey Russo

So You Have Been Publicly Shamed – Jon Ronson (we are living in interesting times and I am trying to have perspective on how social media has altered our personas) [source]

Max Rushden

fascinating, open & honest. I've said this before - but I recommend @jonronson's book - "So You've Been Publicly Shamed" - on the often seismic difference between someone's mistakes and the impact on their lives...and our increasing inability to forgive.👍❤️ https://t.co/bzJRyOO3Mb [source]

Tim O'Reilly

Founder/O'Reilly Media

Robert Caro's book Working succeeds on so many levels: brilliant lessons on the art of researching and writing, a teaser for his great biographies, an endearing autobiography. A quick and delightful read. I can't recommend it highly enough. https://t.co/UJ9X04xx9W [source]

Jerry Neumann

@jdgalarneau Great book. He did this too though he had a dedicated space for it. My apartment isn’t big enough to leave these lying around is the problem. Of course, he probably had 100x the cards [source]

Bill Gates

CEO/Microsoft

On Bill Gates's reading list in 2011. [source]

Jamie Dimon

CEO/JPMorgan Chase

CEO recommends this book (along with The Intelligent Investor) in his suggestion to JP Morgan summer interns. [source]

Erik Rostad

I read this book in 2003 or 2004. I was out of college and working in my first job. Friedman convincingly showed that the world was rapidly changing and that I would soon be competing for jobs with people from around the world. I decided to go to graduate school as a direct result of being convinced of his argument in this book. What's interesting is that I don't think these two books would have the same impact on me now than they did at the time I read them. Certain books are meant for certain seasons of life. Also, the Friedman one is probably quite outdated by now. In other words, these wouldn't necessarily be the books I recommend to people now, but they shaped the direction of my life. [source]

Jasmin Darznik

Kapuscinski is widely regarded as the greatest travel writer of the 20th century. Polish by birth, he witnessed some 40 revolutions and wars during his time as a journalist. He had already built a long and illustrious career when he found his way to Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution. At that moment it was still a populist revolution rather than an Islamic one – the contours of the revolution were as yet undefined. So it is an interesting moment for him to have found himself on the streets of Tehran. [source]

Steve Crawshaw

Kapuściński’s writing has a poetry to it that I adore. He was a journalist, working for the Polish state news agency, writing a lot of routine stories. Books were his release, a chance to get at the inner truth of what was happening. Some have accused him of imagining too much, but I remain loyal. Fundamentally, he doesn’t distort in the big picture. He lets things speak. It’s like a playwright’s writing, but it’s not fiction. He stands the test of time. [source]

Andy Borowitz

Everything about this book is perfect, from the prose to the characters to the Swiss-clock workings of the plot. [source]

M C Beaton

Before I worked for the Daily Express I thought Scoop was a marvellous work of fiction. Then I found it wasn’t that far from the truth. [source]

Martin Bell

The older I got and the more wars I covered – I have done about 18 – the more true it became. Everything is there. [source]

Sam Harris

You can get the benefit of both his voice and his writing if you listen to this audiobook. [source]

Jesper Bylund

I’m currently reading Hitch 22 by the late, and amazing, Christopher Hitchens. And I’m expecting to be blown away, because he was a spectacular author. But I have no idea how. Not sure what the book is really about. He’s just that good. [source]